A preliminary site plan is required before permits are issued. A final (as-built) site plan may be required prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. A good resource for a site plan is a survey issued for a recent mortgage or refinance closing. Watch this video for more information.

A site plan includes the entire lot, drawn to scale, with the following:

• Lot lines with dimensions and road frontage shown.
• All existing and proposed buildings and structures with overall dimensions and, for proposed buildings and structures, the distance measured from the nearest fixed reference points (such as property lines, lot corners, existing building/structures, etc.) that can be used to precisely locate the proposed building/structures should be clearly shown.
• Existing and proposed driveways, parking spaces, patios, pool decking, and walkways with width and surface material identified.
• Where known, existing or proposed well, septic tank and drain field location(s) or sewer and water easements and proposed connection location(s).
• When utilizing a Professional Option Permit (EOP, AOWE, SL 2022-11/A2) for wastewater (septic) permitting, site plans submitted for building permits must demonstrate the location of all wastewater system components including tanks and treatment systems, distribution devices, supply lines, primary and repair drain lines, etc. The wastewater system information must be provided by the appropriate design professional to be included on the site plan submission.
• All water features including ditches, easements, buffers and flood hazard areas (FEMA or flood-prone soils).
• The location, type and relevant dimensions and capacities of storm water management structures, associated easements and other devices.
• All existing and proposed impervious surfaces clearly itemized and listed in square feet and as a percentage of the net lot size. This can be shown on the site plan or an attached impervious calculation worksheet.
• Parcel identification number (PIN), address of property, north arrow, scale of the site plan, bar scale, and date map prepared (and any revision dates). 
• If parcel is less than 5 acres, scales of 1" = 20', 30', 40', 50', 60' or 100' are acceptable on paper no larger than 11" x 17".
• For a parcel of 5 acres or more, scales of 1” = 100’, 200’, 300’, 400’ or 500’ are acceptable in addition to the scales listed above and may be on any size paper. If the paper is larger than 11” x 17”, or the scale is smaller than 1”=100’, an inset or separate sheet must also be provided showing the proposed construction at a scale of 1” = 20’, 30’, 40’, 50’, 60’ or 100’.
• As-built surveys must be labeled as such, be completed by a professional land surveyor and include all the above. The date the as-built is prepared must be on or after the initial building final.

**These are minimum requirements. Special circumstances or small lots may necessitate further requirements**

Minimum requirements for residential building plans submitted to Wake County Plan Review. All plans are required to be designed to meet the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code.

This is a minimum plan review checklist, additional information may be added by the applicant or requested in the field to determine compliance (e.g., I-joists hole cutting chart/booklet). Permit holders remain responsible for meeting all code requirements regardless if a review item or not. This minimum review checklist is intended to help prevent any major non-compliance issues from being built in the field which typically results in significant cost and delays on a project.

All plans submitted for permitting are required to match site plan layouts exactly, including I-Joist, floor and roof truss layouts. 

General

• Name of designer, engineer, or architect with address and phone number
• If plans are stamped by a North Carolina architect or engineer, their seals are required to be signed and dated.
• Indicate heated square footage, garage square footage, unheated square footage, deck/porch square footage.
• Number of bedrooms on the plans are required to match permit application and septic system.
• All options being used need to be clearly marked. Please eliminate or mark out options not being used.
• Drawings to scale (minimum 1/8")
• Minimum plan size: Minimum 11x17; small structures 8.5" x 11", if legible
• Energy code requirements. Insulation, floors, walls and ceilings
   

Elevations / Floor Plans

• Front, sides and rear elevations
• Building height, mean roof height and story height
• Roof pitches
• Glazing U-Factor
• Rooms labeled as to their intended use. Please do not use bonus, flex or office.
• Mark all unheated / unfinished areas.
• Room, hallway and stair dimensions
• Window and door sizes and locations
• Label and show all fireplaces, prefab or masonry.
   

Foundation / Floor Framing

• Wall footing width and depth, reinforcement, if required
• Foundation wall type, size and reinforcement, if required
• Pier footing size width and depth, reinforcement, if required
• Pier sizes and solid cap
• Slab footings and layouts for mono-slabs
• Slab thickness and details, reinforcement, if required
• Anchor bolt details
• Crawl space ventilation calculations or closed crawl space marked on plans
• Crawl space access size
• Girder size, number of members, species, grade and spans
• Floor joist direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans
• If using I-Joist, plans or layout will need to list manufacturer, series, size and on-center spacing. I-Joist design is required to be approved by architect or engineer of plans.
• If using open web floor trusses, layout from manufacturer required.
• Openings in floors, headers and trimmers marked
• Floor sheathing type and thickness
   

Wall & General Framing

• Wall stud size, on-center spacing, species and grade
• Wall header size, number of members, species, grade and spans
• Number of jack and king studs for each opening
• Beam type or species/grade, size, number of members and span
• Stud column size, number of members, species and grade for beams and point loads
• Wall sheathing type and thickness
• Wall bracing method used
• Portal/narrow wall bracing detail, if required
• Point loads marked with load path and blocking requirements
• If brick veneer used, list lintel requirements.
   

Roof Framing

• Roof rafter plan or layout from manufacturer if using engineered roof trusses
• Roof rafter direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans
• Roof tie down method and continuous load path
• Collar ties and rafter ties size and spacing
• Ridge board, hip and valley sizes
• Ceiling joist direction, size, on-center spacing, species, grade and spans
• Openings in ceilings or roof, headers and trimmers marked
• Roof sheathing type and thickness
• Roof vent calculations or marked as unvented
• Attic access size and location
   

Decks and Porches

• Dimensions – outside dimensions, spans between supports posts and footings
• Footing sizes – width, depth and locations
• Posts size
• Girder sizes, number of members and spans between supports
• Floor joist direction, size, on-center spacing and spans
• Bracing details for free standing decks and decks attached to structures with a floor height 4’ or taller
• Deck to house band attachment details
• Header size, number of members and spans between posts
• Ceiling joist direction, size, on-center spacing and spans
• Roof rafter direction, size, on-center spacing and spans
• Ridge size
   

Note: All structural information must comply with North Carolina Residential Building Code, current edition. Structural elements not found in North Carolina Residential Code must be sealed by a professional engineer or architect registered in the State of North Carolina or comply with other professionally recognized evaluation services, such as NES.